The poem that started it all!WarningBy Jenny JosephWhen I am an old woman I shall wear purpleWith a red hat that doesn"t go and doesn"t suit meAnd I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer glovesAnd satin sandals and say we"ve no money for butterI shall sit down on the pavement when I am tiredAnd gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bellsAnd run my stick along the public railingsAnd make up for the sobriety of my youthI shall go out in my slippers in the rainAnd pick flowers in other peoples gardensAnd learn to spitYou can wear terrible shirts and grow more fatAnd eat three pounds of sausages at a goOr only eat bread and pickle for a weekAnd hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dryAnd pay our rent and not swear in the streetAnd set good examples for the childrenWe must have friends to dinner and read the papersBut maybe I ought to practise a little nowSo people who know me are not too shocked and surprisedWhen suddenly I am old and start to wear Purple